Pivotally operating sail and line holding and tightening means

ABSTRACT

A pivotally operating sail and line holding and tightening bolt assembly especially adapted for holding the furling lines and for retaining the sail edges comprising two adapter sleeves, each having a connecting member lying on the outside, the ends of which lie on the inside, and each accommodating one half of an interconnecting bolt provided with a right-hand thread and a left-hand thread at its ends and mounted between the sleeves with a centrally pivoted longitudinal double lever middle lock with open ends which is U-shaped in its end cross sections, so as to pivotally engage the two adapter sleeves by a single locking movement and by swinging in an encircling action also hold the adapter sleeves to hold the sail edges fast. The adapter sleeves are formed with flat edges and the combination of double lever and two adapter sleeves secures the sail edges against twisting.

United States Patent 11 1 Stiierring 4] PIVOTALLY OPERATING sAIL AND LINE HOLDING AND TIGHTENING MEANS [76] Inventor: Werner Stiierring, Ringstr. 20, 5604 Neviges, Germany [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 454,840

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 22, 1973 Germany............................ 2364362 52 US. Cl 114/108; 403/44 51 Int. B6311 9/04 58 Field of 114/108-115, 114/213, 215-217; 403/43-48; 29/175 R, 175 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,223,546 4/1917 Williams... 403/60 2,403,402 7/l946 Rossi 29/175 R 2,913,267 l1/l959 Johnson, 403/46 FORElGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 288,619 10/1913 Germany 403/44 Dec.23, 1975 11.526 8/1888 United Kingdom 114/213 Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Jesus D. Sotelo Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Abraham A. Saflitz [57] ABSTRACT A pivotally operating sail and line holding and tightening bolt assembly especially adapted for holding the furling lines and for retaining the sail edges comprising two adapter sleeves, each having a connecting member lying on the outside, the ends of which lie on the inside, and each accommodating one half of an interconnecting bolt provided with a right-hand thread and a left-hand thread at its ends and mounted between the sleeves with a centrally pivoted longitudinal double lever middle lock with open ends which is U- .shaped in its end cross sections, so as to pivotally engage the two adapter sleeves by a single locking movement and by swinging in an encircling action also hold the adapter sleeves to hold the sail edges fast. The adapter sleeves are formed with flat edges and the combination of double lever and two adapter sleeves secures the sail edges against twisting.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 3,927,634

FIG

PIVOTALLY OPERATING SAIL AND LINE HOLDING AND TIGHTENING MEANS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Applicant calls attention to his prior application in Germany mentioned in the Declaration herein, Patent Application No. P 23 64 362.] filed Dec. 22, 1973 in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and priority of this application is claimed under 35 USC ll).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to pivotally operating sail and line holding and tightening means.

2. Description of Prior Art The sail and line tighteners are known such as in German Pat. No. 288 619 and these can always be used advantageously whenever one end of a rope is connected each time to both ends of the tightener device. Additional retainers or tighteners are needed however in such cases as where a rope or an end of a wire is connected to only one end of the tightener, while the other end of the tightener is to be slidingly disposed on a fixed clamp. A special example of such known embodiment is required whenever the tightener device for the sails is attached on a slide at one end. The example is presented when the tightening means is attached at one end to the forward sail onto a stirrup-like member connected to the hull of a ship. In the case where a frequent change in the inclination of the sailing mast is required and especially in the case of competition in a sailing regatta, the sail retainer must slip on the stirruplike member for holding the shrouds under extreme tension or stress and must adapt to the resulting new alignment of the mast. However, in practice it turns out that the shroud tighteners, which at the same time are still under a high tension load or stress become fixed and are also canted or twisted on the stirrup-like members so' that they do not slip automatically into the corresponding new position of alignment on the mast and as a result of which added high bending stresses and strains of the shroud tightener occur so that the latter becomes deformed until it is unusable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is based on the task of creating a tightener which can be used particularly as a tightener for shrouds.

Starting out from a tightener of the initially mentioned type, the solution of this problem according to the invention consists in the fact, that at least one connecting member of the tightener is articulately connected with its corresponding tensional socket or adapter sleeve. Advantageously the connecting member consists of a strip of steel bent in a U-shape, in the deepest part of said U-shaped strip lies the spherical head of a peg attached rigidly on the tensional casing and guided through the U-shaped bottom with a clearance and between the legs of which a connecting peg has been attached releasably.

The tightener according to the invention, as exhaustive practical tests have shown, is particularly very well suited as a tightener for shrouds, since the joint providcd between the connecting member engaging at the shrouds and the tensional casing makes possible a swiveling of the tightener in relation to the member for holding the shrouds, even if the connecting member and the stirrup-like members maintain a relative position without change. Especially, however, the danger of cantings between the connecting member and the stirrup-like member will be prevented, since the tightener according to the invention is connected with the stirrup-like members altogether in the manner of a universal joint, as will yet be explained in more detail subsequently.

Finally it is also possible according to the invention to provide for the fact that the head of the peg attached rigidly to the tensional casing is elongated (oblong) in front elevation and has a cylindrical surface to fit in the U-shaped floor of the connecting member. As a result of this measure, it will be ensured increasingly that under tension stress, the tensional casing will not turn relative to its connecting member but remains torsionally connected with said member, as required for a satisfactory tightening by means of the tightening bolt.

. invention is shown by way of example in the drawing:

FIG. I shows a tightener in side view;

FIG. 2 shows a cut following the line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a cut following the line III-III in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sketch in order to illustrate the special problems existing in the case of a tightener used as a tightener for shrouds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I shows two adapter sleeve adapter sleeves l and 2 which have a hexagonal outside profile. The adapter sleeve 1 carries a forked head 20 which is connected with the adapter sleeve 1 practically rigidly and sturdily by way of a thread lug 3. A head pin 4 can be pushed through the two legs of the forked head 20 developed as usual, around which the one end of the rope (not shown) is wrapped and which is secured by a spring ring 5 against dropping out.

The adapter sleeves l and 2 are screwed onto a tightening bolt 6 with their ends facing each other, which tightening bolt is provided at one half with a right-hand thread and on the other half with a left-hand thread. In the thickened, longitudinal center of the bolt 6, which in the cross section is likewise developed hexagonally or squarely, a centrally pivoted open-arm double lever 7, which in its cross section is generally U-shaped and is mounted on its pivot and the open ends of lever 7 are semihexagonal or square in shape to accommodate the shape of the bolt 6 whereby the lever 7 when swung out or turned out, constitutes the single, double ended operating lever for turning of the tightening bolt 6 and when turned in or swung in receives or accommodates in its open U-shaped arms the two adapter sleeves and 2 positively in rigid fashion and secures them against twisting by virtue of the fact that the righthand side of lever 7 opens downwardly to accomodate the hexagon or square of the bolt 6, and the lefthand side of the lever opening upwardly to accommodate the hexagon or square section of the corresponding to the side of the bolt 6.

A peg 8 is likewise turned in or forced in sturdily and practically seated rigidly into the outside lying end of the adapter sleeve 2, which peg has a spherical head 9.

3 The peg 8 penetrates with considerable clearance between a hole 10 of a connecting member 11 bent in the shape of a U from a metal strip, through the legs of which one can likewise push a head pin 12. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the connecting member I] is con- 5 nected to a stirrup like member 13 in the case of use of a tightener as a tightener for shrouds according to which the peg 12 is secured by an open spring ring 16 against dropping out. In FIG. 4 the arrow A indicates the direction of the tightener according to a first position of the sailing mast. Whenever the mast is swung into a new position in which the shrouds holding it laterally point in the direction according to the arrow B, the shroud tightener is to slip correspondingly on the stirrup-like member 13 which is fixed at both ends of the stirrup to the hull of the vessel as shown in FIG. 4, and which serves as the anchor for the pivotally operat ing holding device whereby the tightening means may slip and should swing into the new direction B. If, however, as in the case of the customary shroud tighteners, the connecting end of the tightener assigned to the stirrup-like member 13 is developed like the closing end shown in F 1G. 1 on the left, then as a result of cants or tilts frequently no automatic shifting of the tightener, still under tension stress, into the new position, will occur. In the case of the development according to the present invention on the contrary, there exists so to speak a universal joint, namely for one thing the joint between the peg l2 and stirrup-like member 13 fixed at both ends to the hull of the vessel and for another thing between the head 9 and the connecting member 11. Consequently, the tightener in itself is more movable and can change its position on the stirrup-like members 13 more easily in the manner required each time, even when under high tension stress.

Instead of a spherical head 9, an elongated head 14 can also be provided on the joint peg 8, as indicated in a broken line in FIG. 3. The contact surface 15 of this elongated head 14 facing the generally U-shaped bottom is developed advantageously in a cylindrical shape and is adapted to the curve of the U are. As a result of that, one will ensure to a particularly high degree, that in zhe case of even a small tension stress the adapter sle ve 2 is coupled in a twist-proof manner with the connecting member 11, so that the tightening of the lock can be accomplished in the customary manner by means of a double lever 7.

I claim:

1. livo'tally operating sail and line holding and tightening means for shrouds on a boat comprising:

two outside lying connecting members;

two tensioned adapter sleeves, each sleeve bearing each time on one of said outside lying connecting members and the inside ends of each of said sleeves threadedly receiving or accomodating a bolt means;

a bolt means provided for the sleeves;

one half of the bolt means being provided with a right-hand thread and the other half of the bolt means being provided with a left-hand thread;

a centrally pivoted open ended double lever having a longitudinal middle in which is located the central pivot of the double lever and which is mounted on the middle of the bolt means;

.The open ends of said centrally pivoted double lever each being generally U-shaped in its cross section and the double lever being mounted after swing-in to wrap the lever around the adapter sleeves so that it tightly presses to engage both edges of said two adapter sleeves;

said open ends of said levers being developed with flat edges each opening in an opposite direction to the other thereby securing the adapter sleeves against twisting;

at least one connecting member consisting of a U- shaped strip and a generally spherical peg in the deepest part of the U, which is pivotally connected to its corresponding adapter sleeve;

said peg being rigidly attached to the adapter sleeve on one side of said connecting member and said U-shaped bottom having a clearance for said peg to facilitate swing-in by an encircling action to hold the adapter sleeve and to also hold the shroud edges fast while securing these edges against twisting action;

means to attach and to release the bent U-shaped legs;

a stirrup-like member fixed at both ends of the stirrup to the hull of the boat for holding a shroud; said at least one connecting member consisting of a U- shaped strip being slidingly connected to said stirrup-like member for holding the shroud. 

1. Pivotally operating sail and line holding and tightening means for shrouds on a boat comprising: two outside lying connecting members; two tensioned adapter sleeves, each sleeve bearing each time on one of said outside lying connecting members and the inside ends of each of said sleeves threadedly receiving or accomodating a bolt means; a bolt means provided for the sleeves; one half of the bolt means being provided with a right-hand thread and the other half of the bolt means being provided with a left-hand thread; a centrally pivoted open ended double lever having a longitudinal middle in which is located the central pivot of the double lever and which is mounted on the middle of the bolt means; The open ends of said centrally pivoted double lever each being generally U-shaped in its cross section and the double lever being mounted after swing-in to wrap the lever around the adapter sleeves so that it tightly presses to engage both edges of said two adapter sleeves; said open ends of said levers being developed with flat edges each opening in an opposite direction to the other thereby securing the adapter sleeves against twisting; at least one connecting member consisting of a U-shaped strip and a generally spherical peg in the deepest part of the U, which is pivotally connected to its corresponding adapter sleeve; said peg being rigidly attached to the adapter sleeve on one side of said connecting member and said U-shaped bottom having a clearance for said peg To facilitate swing-in by an encircling action to hold the adapter sleeve and to also hold the shroud edges fast while securing these edges against twisting action; means to attach and to release the bent U-shaped legs; a stirrup-like member fixed at both ends of the stirrup to the hull of the boat for holding a shroud; said at least one connecting member consisting of a U-shaped strip being slidingly connected to said stirrup-like member for holding the shroud. 